To get a feel for why so little of the Irish family history survived, you need an overview of Irish history, particularly as it relates to the English. You can get a sense of why the Irish language was supplanted by English, as well as why so many documents were lost. I’ve been selective, but it’s still a large unsavory bit to digest. It’s useful to understand that the Potato Famine was not an isolated event, but rather part of a longstanding hostile relationship between the world’s most powerful industrial and military giant and the people of an underdeveloped agrarian society.
The first rulers of England after the Norman Conquest were:
William the Conqueror [aka Wm the Bastard, a description related to his parents’ relationship, but also a fitting description of his character] 1066-1087
William II 1087-1100 [son of Wm the Conqueror]
Henry I [son of Wm the Conqueror] 1100-1135
Stephen 1135-54
Henry II 1154-1189. Henry II’s wife was Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry had married Eleanor 8 weeks after her after her marriage to Louis VII of France was annulled (because she hadn’t produced male heirs…only 2 daughters in 15 years of marital bliss.) Although Henry and Eleanor had 5 sons and 3 daughters, they did have a rough spot in their relationship; he put her in prison for the last 16 years of their marriage. So, it is not totally surprising that with Henry II, trouble began for the Irish.
1171 Henry II landed at Waterford and declared himself Lord of Ireland. Many of the ancient castles of Ireland were built under him to dominate the land.
1175 The Treaty of Windsor consolidated English (Norman) influence in Ireland by setting up Rory O’Connor as High King of Ireland under Henry’s authority.
1494 Edward Poyning, Henry VII of England’s Lord Deputy to Ireland, issued a declaration that became known as “Poynings’ Law,” under which the Irish were to pass no law without prior consent of the English parliament.
1534-1800 Multiple uprisings …all with the same result: In 1534 Thomas FitzGerald, the 10th Earl of Kildare, renounced his allegiance to Henry VIII of England. When finally caught, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. Two more failed rebellions occurred between 1569 and 1583 (First and Second Desmond rebellions); the fighting ended with Geraldine, Earl of Desmond, being killed by the clan O’Moriarty. The clan chief, Maurice, received 1000 pounds of silver from the English for Desmond’s head, which was sent as a trophy to Queen Elizabeth I. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 failed, as did the Irish Confederate wars of 1642-50.
Oliver Cromwell took command of the English campaign in Ireland in 1649–1650. He profoundly hated Catholicism and Irish Catholics in particular. After Cromwell captured Drogheda in the northeast of Ireland, he had 3500 prisoners executed. He justified his acts as “the righteous judgment of God upon these barbarous wretches.” After his siege of Wexford and its surrender, he had several thousand more troops and civilians massacred. During this period, a series of Penal Laws were passed against Roman Catholics and much of their land was confiscated.
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 failed, as had all previous attempts, and was followed by annexation of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1800. Under the Acts of Union, Ireland formally became part of Britain. Within 3 years there was another failed rebellion.
1845-1852 Irish Famine: The response of the English to the plight of their Irish subjects needs no additional comment.
1867 Fenian Rising. Another poorly organized rebellion was quickly squashed.
1916 Easter Rising: The Irish Republican Brotherhood seized key government buildings in Dublin and issued the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The six-day rebellion ended with the capture and execution of the leaders.
1919 The First Dáil of the Irish Republic met and issued a Declaration of Independence from the UK.
1921 Irish War of Independence: Volunteers of the Army of the Irish Republic killed two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary in what is considered to be the first act of the War of Independence.
1921 Northern Ireland was established…and from thence, we get “The Troubles”. Presbyterian Scots and English Anglicans had been sent to the north of Ireland from the time of Henry VIII to colonize that part of the country with loyal Protestants. This region remains part of the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”
1921 The war for independence ended with the signing of the “Anglo-Irish Treaty” and the creation of the Irish Free State.
1922-3 Irish Civil War. This conflict was about the “Anglo-Irish Treaty.” The forces of the Provisional Government (which became the Irish Free State in Dec 1922) supported the Treaty, while the Republican opposition saw it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic (which had been proclaimed during the Easter Rising). The Civil War was won by “Irish Free State” forces, assisted by the British.
1937 The Constitution of Ireland came into force replacing the Irish Free State with a new state called ‘Éire’, or, in the English language, ‘Ireland’
1949 The Republic of Ireland Act was signed by the President of Ireland abolishing the remaining roles of the British monarch in the government of the Irish state.
Tomorrow…Are Mormons interested in Cleary family history?
Cleary Family History 
When the English were slaughtering lots of Irish, they lined Irish lanes with the severed heads of dead Irishmen, placed upon posts, a subtle warning to other rebellious types. Historians consider early English treatment of the Irish an important element in the history of English colonization of North America. That is, if you can treat a group of people who are fairly similar, from the same area, look a lot like you, and so on, with such contempt and disregard for human life and cultural integrity as the English did the Irish, then how might you treat very dissimilar peoples (Native Americans and enslaved Africans) in a completely different environment?
I found this summary helpful and clear-thanks pop!